our saviour lutheran church the seeker · the coming year should be an exciting one for our saviour...

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Our Saviour Lutheran Church THE SEEKER Our Saviour Evangelical Lutheran Church 56 Cleveland Drive Croton-On-Hudson, NY 10520 (914) 271-4632 Rev. Dr. Arden Strasser, Pastor JANUARY 2018 Sunday Worship Schedule Sunday School: 9:00 am Worship: 10:00 am Coffee Hour: following worship Weekday Office Schedule Office hours: 9:00 am - 12:00 Office Phone: (914) 271-4632 Office E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.oursaviourcroton.org

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Page 1: Our Saviour Lutheran Church THE SEEKER · The coming year should be an exciting one for Our Saviour Lutheran Church. We hope to call our next pastor in 2018, and when the time comes,

Our Saviour Lutheran Church

THE SEEKER O

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Rev. Dr. Arden Strasser, Pastor JANUARY 2018

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Page 2: Our Saviour Lutheran Church THE SEEKER · The coming year should be an exciting one for Our Saviour Lutheran Church. We hope to call our next pastor in 2018, and when the time comes,

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE -John Keil

The coming year should be an exciting one for Our Saviour

Lutheran Church. We hope to call our next pastor in 2018, and when the

time comes, the congregation will meet (and hear preach) any candidates recommended by our Call Committee, and decide upon any offers to be

made. We have many social ministry and outreach projects in progress, including cooking meals for the needy, refining the inclusivity of our

message to newcomers, and collaborating with other local houses of

worship on settling a refugee family. More immediately, be sure to come to our annual Chili Cook-Off in the Parish Hall on January 21, 2018

starting at 5:30 pm. In past years this has proven a great occasion for

warm food and winter fellowship.

As always, please be mindful of our need for proper stewardship of

the church’s finances and property, not just for special occasions but also for fixed expenses, and consider increasing your contributions or

automating them through enrollment in Simply Giving. Although we

recently completed a promising stewardship campaign, the amount pledged is not, by itself, sufficient to cover our anticipated expenses. We

will continue to develop contributions to meet both regular expenses and

capital improvements, and ask you to be mindful in your giving, as well as

continuing to honor your past or current pledges of support.

If you have any questions or thoughts about how you might contribute to our church community, please do not hesitate to contact me

by email at [email protected], or by personally approaching me or any

member of the Council. I hope everyone in our community has had a joyous Christmas season, and wish them a healthy and fulfilling New

Year.

2018 COUNCIL MEMBERS Our Congregational Council members would like to keep the conversations and ideas

that will move our church in the right direction going. If you have any ideas that you

feel Our Saviour can benefit from, please...Talk To Us!! OFFICERS:

President: John Keil Vice President: Matthew Papertsian

Secretary: Sarah Doherty Treasurer: Jennifer Stieglitz

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS:

Christian Education: John Keil Evangelism: Sarah Doherty Social Ministry: Frya Barnes

Property: Frya Barnes Outreach: Sarah Doherty Stewardship & Financial Secretary: John Magerlein

Pastor/Parish Relations: Matthew Papertsian Circle School: OPEN Worship & Music: OPEN

Estomih Mtui:Available MaryBeth Soucy: Available Matilda Weekes: Available

JANUARY SUNDAY SERVANTS January 7 January 14 Karen Kuchnicki & -Greeter&Usher- Marilyn Dreyer & John Magerlein Barbara Henninger

Jennifer Stieglitz -Worship Assistant- Amy Gardiner

Mary Beth Soucy -Lector- Ken Gabrielsen

Lee Ann McCarthy -Altar Guild- Karen Magerlein

Susan Papertsian -Counter- Dianne Carroll

Bob Riekert -Communion Assistant- Lee Ann McCarthy

January 21 January 28 Dianne Carroll & -Greeter&Usher- Lois Leonard & Laura Keil Mary Beth Soucy

Lee Ann McCarthy -Worship Assistant- Jennifer Stieglitz

Amy Gardiner -Lector- Kirsten Berger

Karen Magerlein -Altar Guild- Sue Orts

Frya Barnes -Counter- Karen Magerlein

Ken Gabrielsen -Communion Assistant- John Magerlein

February 4 February 11 Karen Kuchnicki & -Greeter&Usher- John Magerlein & Marilyn Dreyer Barbara Henninger

Amy Gardiner -Worship Assistant- Lee Ann McCarthy

Lee Ann McCarthy -Lector- John Magerlein

Lori Esteves -Altar Guild- Lori Esteves

Dianne Carroll -Counter- Susan Papertsian

Bob Riekert -Communion Assistant- Lee Ann McCarthy

READINGS:

1/7 Genesis 1:1-5 Acts 19:1-7 1/14 1 Samuel 3:1-10 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 1/21 Jonah 3:1-5, 10 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 1/28 Deuteronomy 18:15-20 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 2/4 Isaiah 40:21-31 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 2/11 2 Kings 2:1-12 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Page 3: Our Saviour Lutheran Church THE SEEKER · The coming year should be an exciting one for Our Saviour Lutheran Church. We hope to call our next pastor in 2018, and when the time comes,

Hope in the New Year: A Deeper Power Remember how optimistic you used to be? The hopes you used to have? Where did they go?

Well, they didn't just disappear. They were more or less pushed out of the way by anxiety. More Americans today suffer from undue anxiety, both young and old. We’re worried about our parents or our kids, our spouse, our friends, our grades, going to college, our job, our reputation, our health, our finances or even our country. We find ourselves more pessimistic or sarcastic or even apathetic than we used to be. These feelings are not uncommon. At times we all wish our

particular life situations were different.

Many of us today escape our anxiety for a little while through watching

movies, television, social media, video games, people magazines, or good old-fashioned staying busy.

Another response to distress is positive thinking and optimism. Such a practical philosophy sells a whole lot of books. But it only goes so far, because real life includes failures and uncertainties. We should not pretend that sadness is somehow a weakness when compared to the “positive” feel-good way we're told to be thinking about ourselves.

The Bible gives us a different direction when we are in distress. As Psalm 146 sings, “Our God keeps faith forever.” Think about that. While our emotions change by the hour, our God keeps faith forever. This is our long term hope.

By hope I do not mean optimism, the fantasy that everything will be the way I want tomorrow. Spiritual hope braces itself, and is thus prepared to cope if tomorrow isn't better than today. Despite our best efforts, the future is not fully in our control.

With such a hope, we have the affront to sing out praise to God in our Sunday worship almost as an “act of defiance in a bitter, cynical, make-it-happen world.” Such praise can be an antidote to our despair. Spiritual hope is focused on God's faithfulness to us, and not on ours.

Spiritual hope is linked with the type of patience we find encouraged in the book of James, chapter 5. Normally when we are anxious we are also

impatient. It is natural that we all want events to happen as soon as possible and in the “best” possible way. James is proposing a patience which is uncommon, and therefore given by the Holy Spirit. It is a patience that is rooted in God's long term faithfulness, once again. God may unfold a future that is one we never expected.

There is more help available. When anxious, James chapter 5 also exhorts us to “strengthen our hearts.” This strengthening of our hearts comes as we take advantage of the communities that have been given to us, such as our family

or church. “Patience and suffering is carried when community members watch over and care for one another. No words of slander, no grumbling, no backstabbing, but always speaking and doing the good for the neighbor.” It is characterized by com-passion towards one another, given and received. James encourages us to slow down, be attentive to one another and to not take our friends and relations for grant-ed. God’s will is revealed in God's time.

In 2018, whenever worry is getting the better of you, repeat to yourself “my God is faithful forever. Let me depend on that.”

See you in 2018,

Pastor Arden Strasser

Christian Crafters

Thanks to the 7:00 Monday evening group and

the faithful Tuesday morning group for the fantastic crafts at our 2017 Christmas Fair. Everything looked wonderful. We

did have fun, learned a lot about each other and crafting.

We are taking a break during the month of January. We will gear up for making quilts for Lutheran World Relief starting in February. If

anyone in the congregation has some usable cotton fabric or old cotton sheets or drapes, we sure could repurpose them into quilts. If you are thinking of replacing your blankets, consider donating your

old ones to us to help someone around the world stay warm. Lutheran World Relief does not have a record of where our last years

quilts ended up. It may take over a year before we hear, as communications to some remote areas of the world are limited.

We welcome all helping hands starting Tuesday, February 6, 10:00 am in the Fellowship Hall. Frank suggested the Monday evening group start up in May. All who would like to join in the quilting,

please speak with Lois Leonard.

Page 4: Our Saviour Lutheran Church THE SEEKER · The coming year should be an exciting one for Our Saviour Lutheran Church. We hope to call our next pastor in 2018, and when the time comes,

SUNDAY SERVANTS ARE NEEDED

At the heart of Our Saviour are the many members who dedicate their

talents to serving our church in the position of: Lector, Greeter & Usher,

Worship Assistant, Communion Assistant, Altar Guild, Counter and

Hospitality. Unfortunately over the years we have several members who for

various reasons are not able to help out anymore and so a dedicated few

have been left serving in several positions each week. Serving our church

should never be a burden and so we are asking all to prayerfully consider

where they might volunteer to take an occasional active part in our weekly

worship. Within the next week a sign-up sheet for Sunday Servants will be

found on the link table. Here is a list of the positions and a taste of their

duties. More details of these positions will also be posted:

Worship Assistant: Assists the Pastor up at the Altar for the duration of the service.

Greeter / Usher: Welcomes all at the front door, hands out the bulletins, records the number of attendees each week and collects the offerings during the worship service.

Lector: Reads the First and Second Readings at the Lectern.

Communion Assistant: Offers the cup of wine for intinction during Communion.

Counter: After our service, the counter goes through the Offering plate and

prepares the money collected for the bank deposit, as well as separates the

monies collected into the various categories to be reported in our books.

Categories include: identified contributions, loose cash, moneys for various

specific charities/funds (LWR, Altar Flowers, Lutheran Social Services,

Major Building Improvements, AA, NA, etc…) and deposits the money at

the bank.

Altar Guild: Prior to the Sunday Service, prepares the altar for Worship.

Marks the readings in the bible, ensures needed bread and wine is ready for

service, dresses the altar for the seasonal worship,

cleans altar, services paraments and communion

cups after service, etc,etc.

Hospitality: Brings in refreshments and sets up for

Coffee Hour as well as makes Coffee and cleans

up Community Hall after Coffee Hour.

Please prayerfully consider signing-up to

help out if you are able.

Even if you cannot attend worship every Sunday in a year, the work which you believe in continues every day. Consider

using the automatic electronic funds transfer, which you can easily initiate from our website.

With a simple process, your offering can be transferred automatically from your bank account once each month. It’s easy. At the bottom of our website front page is a green button labeled GIVE ONLINE. When you click it, you are taken to a secure menu where you create an online profile with your address, account number, and offering amount. Your information is 100% safe and protected and you have full control to stop or change your offering at any time.

What’s Your New Year’s

Page 5: Our Saviour Lutheran Church THE SEEKER · The coming year should be an exciting one for Our Saviour Lutheran Church. We hope to call our next pastor in 2018, and when the time comes,

SNOW REMOVAL

Since we lost our volunteers for this, Eric and Mikiko Golberg, we had to turn to professionals to take care of this. We have gotten a quote of $ 80.00 for a snowfall up to 3 inches and for a price 50% higher when we have more than 3 inches. The quote is from Nelson, who is also the person who has done a fine job of keeping our grass cut and trimmed during most of the year.

Since neither Lawn Care nor Snow Removal is in our budget we had asked the congregation for an extra contribution to defray this cost. For Lawn Care we had posted a schedule on the bulletin board where people could sign up. This worked beautifully and all of our Lawn Care was taken care of.

Snow removal is not as predictable, but we would nevertheless appreciate if members could make an extra donation for this.

If you do, please mark your donation 'Snow Removal'. Thank you in advance. Frya Barnes - Property

Bible Study is Back For many people, the bible as a

whole can be intimidating to

handle all alone. That's why it's helpful to have a guide. We are

holding Saturday night bible

studies at 7 pm.

Join us! Expect an engaging and

thought provoking evening, with stories, life applications, and your ideas as well. Pastor is able to translate complex biblical

texts that animate, question and stir the listener. He brings a

wide variety of life experiences that illustrate the journey of faith with which we can identify. Bring a friend!

Martin Luther King Day

It's the 50th anniversary of the Poor People's Campaign,

started by Martin Luther King. Come and commemorate

MLK weekend with our neighboring Houses of Worship,

at Asbury United Methodist Church. We'll learn some

strategies for building peace while standing against hate.

We'll also be updated on the immigration matters in the

NY area. There will be an inspiring speaker, special music,

and home made food. Let's show up in force, on Sunday,

January 14 from 1230 to 230. pm. Agenda for the afternoon is below.

Page 6: Our Saviour Lutheran Church THE SEEKER · The coming year should be an exciting one for Our Saviour Lutheran Church. We hope to call our next pastor in 2018, and when the time comes,

CALL COMMITTEE UPDATE By Sue Orts

In March of 2017, the Call Committee was nominated and formed by John Keil our Church Council president and installed by Vicar Heidgerd. The members are: Bryan Montgomery, Bob Riekert, Matilda Weekes, Mary Beth Soucy, Chuck Cooper and me; Susan Orts, Chairman.

I want to fill you in on some background information on how the Call

Committee is finding a new pastor for our church. In 2015, I led about ten discernment pot lucks and gatherings, and I asked church members to sup-ply information on a survey about their experience with Our Saviour. I used this information along with other information gathered from Kumni Johnson. Kumni had led focus groups a couple of years previous and kept all that information. The information that he gathered, and the infor-mation that I gathered was similar. Not much had changed over a couple of years. I also attended a workshop on Strategic Planning led by the Metro-NY Synod. From all this, I formed a committee which included Church leadership to write a mission and vision statement for our Congregation. The hope was that this would crystallize who we are and

what we do best. I was asked to join the Call Committee because of all the information I had gathered about our parish.

The Call Process began in April when the Synod asked the Committee to start with filling out a very long profile of our congregation called the Ministry Site Profile or MSP. The MSP is very lengthy and comprehensive. It includes the demographics of our Congregation and the community around us. It includes our financial picture and also it is a s urvey of wants and needs to our specific parish. It took the Committee four, two-hour work sessions to complete the MSP and then it was turned over to the Church Council for their review and approval. In June of 2017, we met with the Assistant to the Bishop, Deacon Margy Schmitt-Ajer.

Margy (as she prefers to be called) is our liaison with the Metro NY Synod. She met with us, after reading our survey to make sure that she has a clear picture of what kind of pastor would be best for us. To summarize, here are the main things we said we are looking for: someone who is effective in the pulpit and leads an engaging worship experience; a positive and energetic personality. We call this: preach and teach the Gospel. We also know from our demographic survey, that 30% of our membership is under

19, but our Sunday School has been struggling. We would like someone who has experience with children and maybe some fresh ideas on how to envision Christian education for our youth. We feel that one of the foundations for a successful church, is to have a pastor who is an effective communicator. This person should be knowledgeable or at the very least, be willing to learn new ways of communication, like social media.

We also feel that a good Pastor should also be a good administrator as well. This

person should be able to keep Parish records and work well with support staff.

These are just broad categories of attributes we are searching for. Margy’s job is to

find the right match for us and she has been working very hard to that end. I want

to emphasize that this is a process and during our process, we have come to realize

that we really want and need a full-time pastor. Our Saviour’s financial package is

on the cusp of what the Synod considers full-time. These guidelines are set by the

Synod to help congregations know what is fair compensation based on experience.

It will be up to the Church Council to negotiate the final compensation package.

Margy provides us with three candidate profiles at a time. We meet with her and

she presents each candidate. I then email them and set up a time for the Committee

to place a call. That could be Skype, FaceTime or in one instance a conference call

to the candidate. Before the call is placed, the Committee convenes to review the

profile and formulate questions to help us discern if this person would be good for

Our Saviour, based on the attributes we are looking for. We must interview all three

candidates before we can make a decision about moving on with one or more

candidates. We also ask them to send us a link to either video or audio sermon

which we all review before we meet again. After we interview all three and listen to

their sermon, we have a meeting to discern if any or all of the three presented are

worthy of being pursued. At the same time, these three candidates may be inter-

viewing with other call committees. They are doing their own discernment for what

is right for themselves. Once we have someone we think

may work for us, we will meet them face-to-face. Invite

them to come to the church and see the parsonage, tour

the area and have more general conversations about them,

as a pastor and us, as a congregation. At that time, we

may try to clear up or clarify any concerns we have. The

Synod will then set up a neutral location to have the can-

didate preside over worship and the Call Committee will

attend this service. During this time, we must maintain

confidentiality to the candidate as they may be the pastor

of a nearby congregation, so they probably would not

meet with anyone in the congregation besides members of

the Call Committee. After this, the Committee will meet

again to decide if we would like to recommend this candidate to the Council to be

Page 7: Our Saviour Lutheran Church THE SEEKER · The coming year should be an exciting one for Our Saviour Lutheran Church. We hope to call our next pastor in 2018, and when the time comes,

It's time again for our annual Chili Cook Off, on Sunday,

January 21st! We'll gather in the parish hall at 530 pm for

dinner. We ask everyone to bring some home made chili to

share. In this cold weather, chili warms us inside, and it's fun to

sample different recipes and find your favorite chili.

Perhaps the cooks will even share their recipes with you. After

we settle in, we'll enjoy a short program from Pastor on his work

as a Lutheran missionary.

What is the life of a global missionary? Come and see. Pastor

Arden Strasser served as our missionary with the Lutheran

Churches in Zambia from 2006 to 2014. (Zambia is in central

southern Africa) He will be presenting the life of this national

church and his particular focus on worship, evangelism, and

leadership development, supplemented with many images and

stories.

Having spent 14 years altogether living in southern Africa,

Pastor Arden will also respond to questions around poverty,

economic development, culture, traditional religion,

governance, and prospects for the future. Come for what

promises to be an extraordinary presentation. Invite a friend.

called by Our Saviour. If everyone agrees, then a Letter of Call, which is a kind of

employment contract, will be drawn up and presented to the candidate. If the

candidate agrees to the Letter of Call, the Council will invite the Congregation to a

special Congregational meeting. On that weekend, we will have a social event so

that members of the Congregation can have a meet and greet with the Candidate.

On that Sunday, the candidate will preside over worship. At the end of the

worship service the Congregation will vote to install or reject the candidate as our

new pastor.

So far, we have interviewed six candidates. Of these six, we wanted to pursue one

candidate further, but this candidate was also interviewing for another position.

Currently the synod has let this particular candidate remain on our slate because of

a unique situation, which I am not able to divulge information about. So while

that is happening, the Synod has provided us with three new candidates which we

will start to interview this month. Technically we have four candidates to work

with this time.

We ask for your prayers, patience and understanding as we continue. We are

extremely optimistic about finding a wonderful spiritual leader for Our Saviour.

If you have any thoughts, concerns, or ideas, please do not hesitate to email me:

[email protected]

Have a peaceful and blessed New Year!

Page 8: Our Saviour Lutheran Church THE SEEKER · The coming year should be an exciting one for Our Saviour Lutheran Church. We hope to call our next pastor in 2018, and when the time comes,

January 2018

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

1

2

Choir Practice 7:45pm

AA 7:30pm

3

NA 7:30pm

4

5

6

Bible Study 7pm

AA 7:30pm

7 Baptism of Our Lord Sunday School 9:00am

WorshipService 10:00am

8

9

Choir Practice 7:45pm

AA 7:30pm

10

Danish Home Worship

1:00pm

NA 7:30pm

11

12

Springvale Inn Worship

10:30am

13

Bible Study 7pm

AA 7:30pm

14 Second after Epiphany

Sunday School 9:00am

WorshipService 10:00am

Julia Milstein Baptism

MLK Event at Asbury UMC 12:30-2:30pm

15

16

Choir Practice 7:45pm

AA 7:30pm

17

NA 7:30pm

18

19

20

Bible Study 7pm

AA 7:30pm

HB Sue Montgomery

21 Third after Epiphany

Sunday School 9:00am

WorshipService 10:00am

Council Meeting 11:30am

Chili Cookoff &

Africa Presentation 5:30pm

22

23

Choir Practice 7:45pm

AA 7:30pm

24

NA 7:30pm

25

HB Susie Gardiner

26

27

Bible Study 7pm

AA 7:30pm

28 Fourth after Epiphany

Sunday School 9:00am

WorshipService 10:00am

29

30

Choir Practice 7:45pm

AA 7:30pm

31

NA 7:30pm